James Johnson accepts leading role in Canadian soccer following exit from Football Australia
The chance to foster growth in football off the back of a World Cup for a second time was a key factor in ex-Football Australia chief executive officer James Johnson's decision to accept a similar position with Canadian Soccer Business.
Johnson's resignation from FA earlier this month after more than five years in charge shocked the Australian football fraternity; however, the 43-year-old sports administrator hasn't dwelled on his departure, being quick to accept an offer from Canada.
Canadian Soccer Business describes itself as an 'independent commercial agency that offers a suite of representation services, delivering corporate partnerships, sponsorships and media rights for entities that make up the backbone of soccer' in Canada.
Johnson's role reportedly also includes being the boss of the Canadian Premier League.
However, the chance to have an impact on next year's FIFA World Cup, which Canada is co-hosting with the US and Mexico, perhaps had the greatest appeal for Johnson – who was a driving force behind the 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand – in taking the CSB job.
'This is a big opportunity for Canadian soccer,' Johnson said on Thursday night on the Gold Coast, where he was awarded Bond University's most prestigious accolade, the Alumni Medal. 'We've seen what these big tournaments can do for local football with the success of the women's World Cup here in 2023 and the Matildas.
'These tournaments are so much more than a month of great competition. They're an opportunity to leverage and promote growth (in the sport).'
Johnson told The Canadian Press that football was 'heading north very fast' in Canada.
'(There are) great participation numbers, a new professional game on the men's side and the women's as well and two outstanding national teams,' he said.
'It's a very good time for Canada, and I'm really excited to be part of that.'
Johnson was also honoured to receive his Bond University accolade.
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The Advertiser
23 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
Behich stunner set to become iconic Socceroos moment
The Socceroos have effectively punched their ticket to the 2026 World Cup after an Aziz Behich stunner in the 90th minute lifted them to a 1-0 win over Japan at a sold-out Optus Stadium. In front of 57,226 fans in Perth on Thursday night, Australia looked disjointed and uninspiring throughout the match before Behich popped up for the winner in what was his first international goal in 13 years. Riley McGree's angled cut back rolled tantalisingly untouched in the box, and Behich ran back and unleashed a right-foot strike while spinning his body to send the ball flying in for a goal. The result means the Socceroos (16 points, +8 goal difference) will lock in the second automatic World Cup qualifying spot from their group - barring a crazy big loss to Saudi Arabia in Jeddah next Tuesday. Saudi Arabia (10 points, -2 goal difference) need to beat lowly Bahrain overnight to stay in the hunt to leapfrog the Socceroos. Behich, who won the A-League title with Melbourne City last Saturday, rated his goal against Japan as his finest moment in Socceroos colours. "As soon as it's come off my foot, I felt I hit it pretty nicely," Behich said. "I actually didn't see the ball hit the net. I just kind of saw the crowd erupt and players start running everywhere. "That's when I'm like, 'Let's go'. It was a beautiful moment." Socceroos coach Tony Popovic exploded with emotion on the bench when the goal went in, with a flare set off in the crowd to mark the moment. "It's a special night," Popovic said. "The outpouring of emotions when we scored, and obviously after the game - it's a moment I'll always remember. "We've all played a part in getting us to this point, and we want to go to Saudi Arabia now and really finish the job off." Thursday's result marked Australia's first win over Japan since 2009. Japan (20 points) entered the match under no pressure to perform given they had already qualified for the World Cup as the winners of their group. Regulars such as Kaoru Mitoma, Daizen Maida, Reo Hatate, Takumi Minamino, Ritsu Doan, Junya Ito and Hidemasa Morita didn't even make the trip to Australia, while stars Wataru Endo, Takefusa Kubo and goalkeeper Zion Suzuki were named on the bench. Japan named three debutants in their starting XI as well as six other players with four or fewer international caps to their name. Australia looked like they had stage fright in the first half, with basic errors and bad decision-making regularly plaguing them. Japan enjoyed 70 per cent possession for the half, and they gave the Socceroos a big scare in the 28th minute when Yuito Suzuki surged forward and sent his shot just wide. A goalkeeping error from Japan in the 48th minute gave Behich a sniff that he wasn't able to take advantage of. But he made no mistake in the 90th minute, burying his chance to send the crowd into raptures. The Socceroos have effectively punched their ticket to the 2026 World Cup after an Aziz Behich stunner in the 90th minute lifted them to a 1-0 win over Japan at a sold-out Optus Stadium. In front of 57,226 fans in Perth on Thursday night, Australia looked disjointed and uninspiring throughout the match before Behich popped up for the winner in what was his first international goal in 13 years. Riley McGree's angled cut back rolled tantalisingly untouched in the box, and Behich ran back and unleashed a right-foot strike while spinning his body to send the ball flying in for a goal. The result means the Socceroos (16 points, +8 goal difference) will lock in the second automatic World Cup qualifying spot from their group - barring a crazy big loss to Saudi Arabia in Jeddah next Tuesday. Saudi Arabia (10 points, -2 goal difference) need to beat lowly Bahrain overnight to stay in the hunt to leapfrog the Socceroos. Behich, who won the A-League title with Melbourne City last Saturday, rated his goal against Japan as his finest moment in Socceroos colours. "As soon as it's come off my foot, I felt I hit it pretty nicely," Behich said. "I actually didn't see the ball hit the net. I just kind of saw the crowd erupt and players start running everywhere. "That's when I'm like, 'Let's go'. It was a beautiful moment." Socceroos coach Tony Popovic exploded with emotion on the bench when the goal went in, with a flare set off in the crowd to mark the moment. "It's a special night," Popovic said. "The outpouring of emotions when we scored, and obviously after the game - it's a moment I'll always remember. "We've all played a part in getting us to this point, and we want to go to Saudi Arabia now and really finish the job off." Thursday's result marked Australia's first win over Japan since 2009. Japan (20 points) entered the match under no pressure to perform given they had already qualified for the World Cup as the winners of their group. Regulars such as Kaoru Mitoma, Daizen Maida, Reo Hatate, Takumi Minamino, Ritsu Doan, Junya Ito and Hidemasa Morita didn't even make the trip to Australia, while stars Wataru Endo, Takefusa Kubo and goalkeeper Zion Suzuki were named on the bench. Japan named three debutants in their starting XI as well as six other players with four or fewer international caps to their name. Australia looked like they had stage fright in the first half, with basic errors and bad decision-making regularly plaguing them. Japan enjoyed 70 per cent possession for the half, and they gave the Socceroos a big scare in the 28th minute when Yuito Suzuki surged forward and sent his shot just wide. A goalkeeping error from Japan in the 48th minute gave Behich a sniff that he wasn't able to take advantage of. But he made no mistake in the 90th minute, burying his chance to send the crowd into raptures. The Socceroos have effectively punched their ticket to the 2026 World Cup after an Aziz Behich stunner in the 90th minute lifted them to a 1-0 win over Japan at a sold-out Optus Stadium. In front of 57,226 fans in Perth on Thursday night, Australia looked disjointed and uninspiring throughout the match before Behich popped up for the winner in what was his first international goal in 13 years. Riley McGree's angled cut back rolled tantalisingly untouched in the box, and Behich ran back and unleashed a right-foot strike while spinning his body to send the ball flying in for a goal. The result means the Socceroos (16 points, +8 goal difference) will lock in the second automatic World Cup qualifying spot from their group - barring a crazy big loss to Saudi Arabia in Jeddah next Tuesday. Saudi Arabia (10 points, -2 goal difference) need to beat lowly Bahrain overnight to stay in the hunt to leapfrog the Socceroos. Behich, who won the A-League title with Melbourne City last Saturday, rated his goal against Japan as his finest moment in Socceroos colours. "As soon as it's come off my foot, I felt I hit it pretty nicely," Behich said. "I actually didn't see the ball hit the net. I just kind of saw the crowd erupt and players start running everywhere. "That's when I'm like, 'Let's go'. It was a beautiful moment." Socceroos coach Tony Popovic exploded with emotion on the bench when the goal went in, with a flare set off in the crowd to mark the moment. "It's a special night," Popovic said. "The outpouring of emotions when we scored, and obviously after the game - it's a moment I'll always remember. "We've all played a part in getting us to this point, and we want to go to Saudi Arabia now and really finish the job off." Thursday's result marked Australia's first win over Japan since 2009. Japan (20 points) entered the match under no pressure to perform given they had already qualified for the World Cup as the winners of their group. Regulars such as Kaoru Mitoma, Daizen Maida, Reo Hatate, Takumi Minamino, Ritsu Doan, Junya Ito and Hidemasa Morita didn't even make the trip to Australia, while stars Wataru Endo, Takefusa Kubo and goalkeeper Zion Suzuki were named on the bench. Japan named three debutants in their starting XI as well as six other players with four or fewer international caps to their name. Australia looked like they had stage fright in the first half, with basic errors and bad decision-making regularly plaguing them. Japan enjoyed 70 per cent possession for the half, and they gave the Socceroos a big scare in the 28th minute when Yuito Suzuki surged forward and sent his shot just wide. A goalkeeping error from Japan in the 48th minute gave Behich a sniff that he wasn't able to take advantage of. But he made no mistake in the 90th minute, burying his chance to send the crowd into raptures.
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
What the US warning on China means for our defence
Sam Hawley: Donald Trump is demanding America's allies massively boost defence spending. His Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, says a Chinese invasion of Taiwan could be imminent. And one of our closest allies, the UK, is rushing to invest billions of dollars in its defence force to make sure it's war-ready. Today Peter Dean from the United States Studies Centre at Sydney Uni, on what that all means for us, and whether our defence force is fit for purpose. I'm Sam Hawley on Gadigal Land in Sydney. This is ABC News Daily. Sam Hawley: Peter, we better start with these comments from the US Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, at the Shangri-La meeting in Singapore. He has warned that China poses an imminent threat to Taiwan. Pete Hegseth, US Defense Secretary: To be clear, any attempt by communist China to conquer Taiwan by force would result in devastating consequences for the Indo-Pacific and the world. There's no reason to sugarcoat it. The threat China poses is real and it could be imminent. We hope not, but it certainly could be. Peter Dean: Yes, so Secretary Hegseth I believe is referring to here is comments made by the Chinese leader Xi Jinping and by other members of the Chinese leadership, where Xi Jinping in particular has said that the Chinese military are prepared to use force and to achieve specific capability goals by the dates of 2027 and the dates of 2029. Pete Hegseth, US Defense Secretary: We know, it's public, that Xi has ordered his military to be capable of invading Taiwan by 2027. The PLA is building the military needed to do it, training for it every day and rehearsing for the real deal. Peter Dean: This is about requirements that Xi Jinping has set for the development of the People's Liberation Army and its subsequent Navy and Air Forces as well. So this is about its development of specific capabilities, but also its command and control systems, its ability to conduct exercises and its ability to conduct the types of high-end warfare to undertake, for instance, a strike across the Taiwan Strait. Sam Hawley: So what has China then, Peter, had to say about all of this, that it will imminently attack Taiwan? Peter Dean: Well, I mean, what Xi Jinping has said is that he reserves the right to use force to solve what the Chinese argue is a domestic political issue. They, of course, refer to Taiwan as a rogue state. They don't recognise the democratic system that the Taiwanese people have. And of course, they don't recognise the will of the Taiwanese people, who overwhelmingly identify now as Taiwanese and do not wish to be reunited with the mainland. Sam Hawley: Well, China's foreign ministry does say that the US is overstepping its bounds and stoking flames in the South China Sea in response to those comments from Pete Hegseth. Sam Hawley: Let's consider, Peter, now then China's military build-up and defence spending by Western nations. Now, our Defence Minister, Richard Marles, he also addressed that conference in Singapore, noting that Australia can't rely on the US alone to counter China's military strength in the Indo-Pacific. Richard Marles, Defence Minister: There is no effective balance of power in this region absent the United States, but we cannot leave it to the United States alone. Other countries must contribute to this balance as well, and that includes Australia. Sam Hawley: And he also pointed to that huge military build-up by China. Richard Marles, Defence Minister: What we have seen from China is the single biggest increase in military capability and build-up in a conventional sense by any country since the end of the Second World War. Peter Dean: So I think what Richard Marles is putting out there is basically reaffirming Australia's strategic approach and that this is not just something that we can rely upon the US to do on its own. It doesn't have the requisite levels of capability to respond to China in this way. It must be by a community of nations within the Indo-Pacific. And as a status quo power, Australia and the United States and others are attempting to maintain the free and open Indo-Pacific that we currently have and stop any state from being able to dominate that region and impose a sort of hegemonic control over the Indo-Pacific. Sam Hawley: All right. Well, Donald Trump, of course, and Pete Hegseth have urged US allies in the region to increase their defence spending. They want Australia to raise our contribution to 3.5% of GDP, but let's face it, we are nowhere near that at the moment, and that would cost a lot of money, wouldn't it? Peter Dean: Oh, yes. You're looking in the realm of somewhere around $41 billion additional to go into defence spending to raise that level of money. I think what's really key here is GDP as a measure of defence spending has become a bit shorthand in recent decades for sort of commitment towards defending your own country or contributing to collective defence. There is no magical number that the Australian government can get to that would make our country safe. And if you remember way back when Tony Abbott was vying to become Prime Minister, when Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd were running the country, then there was a whole debate about achieving 2% of GDP, which we currently have. Now the debate has moved on to is it 3 or 3.5% of GDP. But of course, as I said, most importantly, this number is being used internationally as a proxy by both the Trump administration, but by other states around the world, relative to an individual state's commitment to both its own sovereignty and security, but also the collective defence of the region it lives in. Sam Hawley: Yeah, well, Anthony Albanese says we will determine our own defence policy. And he notes that Australia is on track to lift defence spending to 2.4% of GDP by 2033-34. Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister: We're provided an additional $10 billion of investment into defence over the forward estimates. We're continuing to lift up. That adds up to 2.3% of GDP. Sam Hawley: A long way, as we said, to 3.5% that the Americans actually want. But nations like the UK are now moving more quickly, aren't they, Peter? The British leader, Keir Starmer, he has promised to increase annual spending to 3% up from 2.3%. They seem pretty worried in the United Kingdom. Peter Dean: Yeah, look, the UK government has made a firm commitment to move to 2.5% of GDP in the next couple of years and 3% of GDP in the near future. This is off the back of their strategic defence review. News report: Under the AUKUS security pact with Australia and America, 12 new nuclear-powered submarines will be built to protect Britain's waters. Six new munitions factories will be constructed across the UK and thousands of long-range weapons will be manufactured on British soil. Keir Starmer, UK Prime Minister: We are moving to warfighting readiness as the central purpose of our armed forces. When we are being directly threatened by states with advanced military forces, the most effective way to deter them is to be ready. Peter Dean: Particularly in response not only to the war in Ukraine and the threat from Russia, but of course, most recently from the changing posture of the United States under President Donald Trump. And what we can see there is Keir Starmer, along with Emmanuel Macron from France and other key leaders in Europe, are working assiduously hard to provide for greater defence of Europe based on European needs. Sam Hawley: Well, the British leader Keir Starmer says the UK must be ready to fight a war. Keir Starmer, UK Prime Minister: A battle-ready, armour-clad nation with the strongest alliances and the most advanced capabilities equipped for the decades to come. Sam Hawley: What weaponry does he want? Peter Dean: Well, what Keir Starmer has announced is that he wishes the UK military to field a force of at least 7,000 long-range missiles. Now, if you look at what's happening in the war in Ukraine in particular, but also the war in Gaza and the Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, what you've seen is the explosion of the use of long-range precision fires in each of those conflicts. Sam Hawley: Well, the UK plans to pay for all of this by, in part, cutting international aid, just to note that. What's it really worried about then? Is it just Russia or does China come into this as well for the UK? Peter Dean: Look, I think it's both. I mean, what we're seeing is a fundamental changing of the strategic order of the world that we live in. The world is becoming much more dangerous. As our own government has said, we live in the most perilous times. We're seeing the rise of revisionist powers, in particular China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. And of course, the Russian illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine has been really at the centre of this. This is the first time since the end of the Second World War that Europe has seen a large major power conduct a full-on invasion of another state in Europe. That is an ongoing war, as we see today. And it looks like President Trump's efforts at brokering a peace deal are faltering at the moment. So that war is going to continue on. Sam Hawley: And the concern is, of course, that if Putin succeeds in Ukraine, he has other plans after that, right? Peter Dean: Well, exactly. And Putin, again, I think we need to actually believe what the rhetoric is coming out of some of these leaders from some of these states. I mean, Putin made it very clear in the lead up to the war in Ukraine that he believes that Ukraine shouldn't exist as a sovereign state, that it belongs as a part of a revitalised Russian empire that he sees. And he committed similar acts in states such as Georgia and other parts. And of course, in Ukraine itself, where he conducted limited incursions. And of course, what we see in the South China Sea and the East China Sea is ambient claims from China that are not recognised by international courts or international law. And the Chinese consistently using coercion military force against the Philippines, against Vietnam, against Indonesia, against Taiwan and against Japan in various parts of those seas to push their own sovereign claims, even though they are not recognised in the international community and not recognised by those other states. And of course, we add in the layer here of the cyber domain and cyber dimension, that while we're largely in strategic competition with these states across the globe in areas such as cyber, we're in day to day limited conflict as we receive an onslaught of assaults in the cyber domain from states such as North Korea, Iran, China and Russia. Sam Hawley: All right, well, Peter, as you say, we're living in a less stable world. But what do you think is our approach when it comes to defence, the right one? Are we war ready like the UK wants to be? And if we're not, do we actually need to be? Peter Dean: I think we're definitely not war ready at the moment. If you look at the Defence Strategic Review in 2023, it made it really clear that the ADF was not fit for purpose. The government is in the process of lifting defence spending to try and achieve some of the outcomes that were set. We don't have 10 years anymore to wait to prepare our forces. Now, what's been happening in Australia has been a long discussion in recent years over the requisite levels of defence spending. This was happening well before Donald Trump was elected for his second term of office. And if you look back to last year, you'll see some very eminent commentators and experienced people in this debate, people such as Sir Angus Houston, the former chief of Defence Force and one of the two independent leads of the Defence Strategic Review, former Secretary Dennis Richardson, former Labor leader Kim Beazley, former Home Affairs Secretary Mike Pezzullo, have all called for increasing of defence spending to around about three percentage of GDP on defence. So this is a national debate that's been happening for quite a while. And now it's become much more direct, given that our US alliance partner has directly made the request to Australia to increase defence spending. Sam Hawley: All right, and what about this imminent threat that Pete Hegseth talks about that China will invade Taiwan soon? If that was the case, and we're not saying that it is, of course, but what would that mean for us? Peter Dean: This would mean you have the two largest economies in the world going toe to toe militarily with each other across the Taiwan Strait and in East Asia. It would always inevitably suck in states like Japan and Korea and Australia and others. And in all the estimates we have, not only would it be the extreme loss of life that would occur by the states involved in the conflict, you would spiral the global economy into a major recession, if not depression. You're talking about the most dynamic economic region in the world being consumed by conflict. And we will be putting ourselves in the risk not just of a global economic recession and a major war, but of course, we're talking about a war here between major nuclear armed states. The government's not wrong when it says we live in this really dangerous strategic age. And of course, Donald Trump is not helping that, right? He's not helping stability and security. He's, you know, in many senses, creating a source of additional instability in the global strategic order. Sam Hawley: Peter Dean is the director of foreign policy and defence at the United States Study Centre at the University of Sydney. This episode was produced by Sydney Pead. Audio production by Adair Sheppard. Our supervising producer is David Coady. I'm Sam Hawley. ABC News Daily will be back again on Monday. Thanks for listening.
West Australian
2 hours ago
- West Australian
Socceroos hero Aziz Behich and coach Tony Popovic ecstatic after later winner against Japan
By Aziz Behich's own admission, the Socceroos' newest hero did not actually see his 90th minute strike hit the net. Instead, he saw a sea of bodies rise as one in the crowd, heard a roar summoned from their depths, and he knew he had struck gold. With his late strike on his unfavoured right foot, Behich entrenched himself in Socceroos and national sporting folklore, steering home Riley McGree's cutback on his unfavoured right foot to give Australia a 1-0 win over Japan in Perth. The Socceroos had scarcely deserved a point, let alone all three from their clash in front of a crowd of 57,226 at Optus Stadium. But it did not matter, as their three points over Japan pushed them to the precipice of a sixth successive World Cup qualification. Only a disastrous defeat in the realm of five goals to Saudi Arabia in Jeddah on Tuesday would thwart direct qualification to the 2026 marquee tournament in North America. Behich said he saw the chance to push forward as the Socceroos chased a late but unlikely winner and as it turned out, fortune favoured the brave. 'It was just about getting myself in a position into the box. One thing the boss said at half-time was, we've still got to work hard, be tough to break down, but we will get our opportunity if we stick to our structure and get numbers into the box,' he said. 'We'll get one opportunity, and we'll take it. 'I just tried to get myself into that back post area and as soon as it sat and it's come off my foot, I felt it hit pretty nicely. 'I actually didn't see the ball as it hit the net; I just saw the crowd erupt and players start running everywhere, and that's when I looked at the goal. It was a beautiful moment.' Last Saturday, Behich's Melbourne City side were crowned A-League Men's champions; all in all, it has not been a bad few days for the 34-year-old, and he said the goal sat 'right at the top' of his career. 'With what's on the line for us, with we've had to go through this campaign, and obviously, playing against the nation that we haven't beat in I don't know how many years,' he said. 'We're always the underdog and always expected to lose, but we always have belief within those four walls. This is right up there in my green and gold career.' His winner against Japan was just his third Socceroos goal in more than 80 games, and first for the national team in more than a decade. When Behich's goal hit the back of the net, Socceroos coach Tony Popovic sunk down and exalted a scream of pure passion and delight, before he was mobbed by his coaching staff. 'As soon as he hit it, I just had a great vantage point there. I could see the ball was going as soon as it left his foot, just a wonderful goal,' Popovic said. Almost six years to the day Popovic watched his Perth Glory side fall in an A-League grand final at Optus Stadium on penalties, he oversaw the national team take a massive stride towards sealing their place at a World Cup. 'A special night. The outpouring of emotions when we scored, and obviously after the game — it's a moment I'll always remember,' Popovic said. 'Emotions were obviously very high, I think for many reasons. We know what we're aiming to do is to get direct qualification. 'You're playing the best team in Asia at the moment, and you win it so late — you can't script it better than that, although, it's obviously a nervous 90 minutes before it gets to that point. 'I'm very happy for everyone involved with the Socceroos: the FA the board, chairman, CEO, all the way down. 'It's been a really intense period since I've come in, but everyone's embraced what we're aiming to do. We're very close now to achieving our goal.'
